The Alternate Profession Quandary
by banana.x.phone
Summary: Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj go out for a boy's night. Season 5 - AU. Short-fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Story is up and running! Thanks for reading, reviews are very much appreciated. This isn't as romantic as my other stories, so feedback on the tone/feel would be great!  
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**Enjoy!  
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The pink and white flashing neon lights of the sign on the building illuminated his face. He was thankful that his father had left the keys to his pickup truck behind. The radio softly played, Dolly Parton was crooning a sad tale of betrayal and regret. He sat in the middle seat of his father's 1985 Chevy pickup truck reading the latest adventures of the Flash. Often when he and his father would go out duck hunting with his older brother George Jr., who was ten years older, the two of them would stop here for an hour or so, leaving him in the truck to wait, before dropping him off to his mother's house. Tonight, it was just him and his father. The divorce hadn't really affected him much, he got to live with his mother and only visit his father when it was convenient for him to pick Sheldon up.

His eyes glanced up at the door to the establishment when a man walked out with a woman. He had hoped it was his father, but it wasn't. The woman was laughing and touching the man's chest, she was wearing next to nothing, and before he could get a better look at the man, they disappeared around the dark corner. He knew that she would come back alone and go back into the building. It's was not the first time he had seen her disappear behind the corner with a strange man. His gaze flicked to the sign. Ocean Cabaret. At eleven years old, he had a vague idea as to what went on in there. Being a genius with an IQ of 187 didn't help his prepubescent mind. This was the last time he would spend with his father, sitting in the parking lot of a seedy strip joint waiting for his father to come back, most likely after consuming four or five beers, and drive him home. College was right around the corner and he could finally get away from his East Texas family and spend his time with other academics. He would give anything to be in the arms of his mother, listening to her nonsensically ramble on about how Jesus loved him.

The door opened again, and he quickly fixed his gaze on his father, he stumbled toward the truck with a brunette woman on his arm. She was quite busty and her cleavage spilled from her tacky, low cut leopard print dress. His father got behind the wheel of the truck and the woman climbed in beside him. The smell of beer filled the vehicle as they began to drive away from the building and he felt the urge to vomit tickling at the back of his throat. He set the comic book he was reading in his lap and looked up at the woman. She was wearing entirely too much make up in a bold attempt to conceal her age. She smiled at him. His head snapped forward and he averted his eyes to the gear shift in an attempt to make himself invisible. Maybe if he didn't move, she wouldn't be able to see him.

"Hi Handsome." The woman said. Her voice was raspy and thick. A twitch took over the entire left side of his face as he refused to meet her incessant gaze. His father cuffed him on the back of his head. The force caused him to lurch forward and smack his forehead against the dashboard. He grasped at the goose egg that was quickly forming on his forehead and he bit back the urge to cry out in pain. He had survived much worse, that's for sure.

"Shelly, Rhonda is talkin' to you. Smart'n up, or you're gonna see a whole world of hurt." His father sternly said. He bit at his lip and glanced back at the woman sitting beside him. He choked back the tears that welled up in his eyes. He would never let his father see him cry. It didn't matter how hard he was hit or how cruel the words that were said to him were, he would _never _give him the satisfaction. His grip tightened on the comic book that sat in his lap, destroying the value of one of the things he treasured the most.

"Hello." He quietly said while briefly meeting her eyes. She smiled while glancing down at the comic book in his hands. Quickly, he clutched it to his chest. He just wanted to be at home, tucked into bed. Perhaps his mother would sing him Soft Kitty tonight.

"What'cha readin' there?" She drawled, her accent was thick and it grated on his nerves. His eyes glanced over at her and then back to the comic book he clutched in his hands. For fear of getting another smack, he answered quickly.

"It's the Flash #220, It Starts Here: Rogue War, Chapter 1." He quietly replied. The woman smiled and shifted in her seat as she rolled down the window and lit up a Marlboro Light. The airways to his lungs constricted and he could feel his asthma acting up. Only a few more blocks to go. Only a few more blocks to go. Only a few more blocks to go, he mentally repeated to himself. Once they arrived at his house, the woman got out of the truck, and Sheldon got out. His father drove away without as much as a goodbye. A tear escaped his soft, dark lashes and splashed onto his cheek.

He ran across the tiny front yard, his pathway was dimly illuminated by the street lamp in front of his house. The door flung open, he dropped his comic book by the door and he ran past his mother and twin sister who were watching television in the living room. The sound of her comforting footsteps followed behind him as he briskly walked to his room. After tearing his clothes off and changing into his Saturday night pajamas, his mother quietly walked into his bedroom and sat beside him on the bed. Her hand hovered over the bump on his forehead. She lightly touched it and he winced.

"Sheldon, baby, what happened?" His mother knowingly asked. Sheldon could see it in her eyes, she knew that anything other than 'George gave it to me' would be a lie. He tried anyway.

"I hit my head on the truck." Sheldon said, his eye twitched as he told his half-truth. The negation of him telling her that the force of his father's hand hitting the back of his head _caused_ him to hit his head on the truck would eat him up inside, he didn't care. His mother ran her fingers through his short dark hair and she pulled him closer to her. He sat hugging his mother while she gently stroked his hair. Sheldon relaxed into her touch and closed his eyes. He was home, he was safe and he wouldn't have to go to Ocean Cabaret ever again. He pulled away and got into his bed; his mother tucked him in and sat down beside him.

"Mom?" He sleepily asked. She ran her fingers through his baby soft hair, her touch was so comforting.

"Yeah baby?" She softly replied. His piercing blue eyes met hers for a moment before he looked away.

"Will you sing Soft Kitty to me?" He asked. Though it was a childish request, he didn't care. He needed it.

"Of course, baby." She lovingly told him. Sheldon closed his eyes and let his mother sing him to sleep.

That was just over two decades ago, but thanks to Sheldon's eidetic memory he could remember it like it happened yesterday. They were on their way to Howard's bachelor party. The night of the party, they had all decided that it would be _fun_ to go to the strippers. Sheldon couldn't push the childhood memory out of his head. The entire night, that was literally all he could think about. Sheldon stared blankly out the window as his friends talked about how _epic_ this night was going to be. An epic waste of time, perhaps. There was a dress code for the club they were going to, they had to wear dress pants, nice shoes and a shirt with a collar. Sheldon had originally had wanted to wear his plaid suit, but his friends forbade it. Instead he was forced to wear the black dress pants that went along with the suit that he had procured with Penny in the mall, along with the black dress shirt that was originally paired with the suit. He wasn't allowed to wear a tie, and they made him roll up his sleeves to his just under his elbows. Sheldon felt like a clown, despite the praise and approval he received from the group of men he was being forced to spend the evening with.

The car they hired pulled up to the club and Sheldon looked at the flashing sign. Bare 'N Legal. Sheldon grimaced at the name of the club. Howard had sworn it was one of the best clubs in California, which is why they had to drive a half hour from Pasadena to Pomona to get to it. The men piled out of the car and walked toward the club, for an extra $50 the driver would wait in the parking lot for them until they were finished. The return trip already cost them $100 per person, what was another $12.50 per person? Sheldon kept his hands in his pockets, gripping the hand sanitizer in one and the wad of ones the guys had insisted he take out from the bank in the other as the bouncer let them inside the club. It was dark and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust, he noticed that it was a completely nude bar and he flushed with embarrassment while averting his eyes to the floor. He willed this night to be over as quickly as physics would allow, which was no faster than it could possibly be allowed according to the laws of physics. He hoped that his perception would kick in to allow him to believe that time was flying by, as it were.

They sat at a table and waited for the waitress to arrive. A tiny Korean girl with long black hair came by, she was topless, but luckily she had a black pair of lacy panties on. Sheldon couldn't help but stare at her perfect, most likely, surgically enhanced tits. Leonard leaned in and ordered eight shots of rum and three rum and cokes and one diet coke for Sheldon. Earlier in the evening, Sheldon had agreed to participate in all aspects of the bachelor party, including partaking in the drinking. The alcohol might take the edge off, and release some of the nervous energy he was already feeling about attending a bachelor party. Had he known they were going to the strippers before he made that promise, he might have reconsidered. It didn't matter, he was in the thick of it and there wasn't any turning back. The small waitress came back and distributed the drinks and shots to the table. The men at the table took out a dollar bill and stuffed them into her panties. Sheldon must have missed the social cue. He didn't know the protocol, as it was his first time actually in a strip club. The guys eyed him expectantly and he quickly realized that he needed to follow suit. He took out a bill from his pocket and tried to hand it to the girl. She pouted at him.

"Sorry, Miss." He mumbled, the Texas accent that he worked so hard to suppress had escaped him. Sheldon looked down at her makeshift panty pockets and reluctantly placed the bill into her undergarments. He was trying to be respectful of the woman serving them and to a certain degree, she didn't want it. She grinned at him and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. Sheldon stiffened under her touch, his hand restlessly fidgeted in his lap. When she left, he took out the hand sanitizer and rubbed a small amount into his hand and vigorously rubbed his hands together. Before his hands completely dried, he rubbed at the spot on his cheek where she kissed him. His friends looked at him with wide grins prominently displayed on their faces. Sheldon rolled his eyes at them.

"You player, Sheldon Cooper!" Raj shouted as he picked up a shot. Sheldon followed suit and picked up one of his shots.

"Yes, well, let's just get this treacherous evening done and over with." He quickly said while raising his shot glass to his half-assed toast. He quickly took the shot of rum and it burned down his esophagus as he forced himself to swallow the liquid. The shot glass slammed on the table and he picked up his diet coke, the bubbly soda helped take away the vile taste of the alcohol.

"So that really sucks about you and Penny, man. I'm sorry your beta thing didn't work out." Raj sympathetically told Leonard as he took a long sip from his rum and coke. Leonard shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not a big deal, it just didn't work. It's fine." Leonard said defeated. Leonard took his other shot and chased it down with his alcohol infused drink. Sheldon was kind of glad that he no longer had to listen to their amorous activities through the paper thin wall that separated their bedrooms. The sounds of Penny's moans would forever be etched into his brain. Sheldon had always been attracted to her, right from the day they met.

When he and Amy broke up because they came to an impasse in regards to who's work trumped who's, he was relieved beyond recognition. The thought of carrying on under the pretense that she could even conceive that her work was better than his and was higher on the scientific food chain, was unbearable. Amy soon became scientifically involved with Raj, she was trying to determine if she could uncover the reason behind his select mutism by mapping his brain. By the stories that followed, it had been implied that there was a whole lot more than brain mapping going on. Even though he could barely comprehend the social aspects in any given situation, he concluded that a reptile could infer what was going on between the two. Now, he could think about Penny without feeling plagued by guilt. Though it was likely that he would never act on his suppressed feelings for her, it didn't hurt to imagine what the sequence of events might look like if he had. Sheldon was quickly being pulled away by his thoughts when his eyes focused on a blond who was quickly walking toward, what he assumed to be the back room. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn it was Penny.

Sheldon took his other shot as he stood up and drank down the rest of his soda. His curiosity had been piqued and he couldn't deny his inner scientist the chance to prove a hypothesis. He walked away from the table and stalked toward the back room. He was quickly being stopped by a woman who was wearing a lot more clothes than the other woman in the establishment. His eyes darted across her face, she seemed a little older, but she still looked relatively young. Must be Botox.

"Whoa, Sugar, where do you think you're going?" She sternly asked, Sheldon knew she was from somewhere in the south, probably Georgia. Sheldon shuffled uncomfortably in the spot he was standing in. His blue eyes met hers and he licked his dry lips.

"That girl, the blond one who just came in for her shift, what's her name?" Sheldon quickly asked. The woman, who he assumed to be some sort of manager, smiled at his question.

"That's Nebraska, she's working in the VIP room tonight, do you want a dance with her?" She coyly asked. Sheldon contemplated this for a moment while he quickly worked out the probability in his head. He was 86% sure that woman was Penny. He had to find out. Sheldon reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out two one hundred dollar bills and handed them over to the woman. She tucked his money into her bra.

"Can you make sure I'm first?" He asked. She nodded and motioned for him to follow her. Sheldon was led down a hallway and she opened the door to a room. Sheldon went in and the bouncer looked him over. The rules were being relayed to him by the mack truck of a man. No touching, if she says it's ok, then it's ok. If he fucks around, the bouncer will break his neck. Sheldon nodded his head and sat down in the comfortable chair that was provided for him. The bouncer left and closed the door behind him. He hoped to God that this girl was Penny.

The lights dimmed in the room after approximately 10 minutes of waiting and Sheldon began to think this was a mistake, there must be some other way he could have found out if Penny was a stripper or not. It was too late, the girl was turned around so her back was facing Sheldon. A spotlight shone on her illuminating her slender figure and nice ass. She had hair that was a little bit longer than Penny's. Sheldon began to sweat, perhaps he could get a refund for his purchase. Striptease by Hawksley Workman began to play over the speakers and her hips started to sway with the music. She worked her way down the to floor and spread open her legs, making her ass flex. Her frilly fuchsia thong moved a touch and revealed a Chinese character tattooed on her perfectly round cheek. Soup. Sheldon had just then confirmed his hypothesis. She quickly wiggled herself back up to standing position while unclasping her bra. Sheldon watched nervously as she took of her bra revealing a bare back. He swallowed the lump in his throat and licked at his dry lips. She let her bra fall from her finger tips to the stage. She quickly turned around to him and her eyes grew wide.

"Sheldon!" Penny cried as she tried to cover her exposed breasts. The music continued to play in the background and her eyes nervously darted across his face. She quickly picked up her bra and put it back on. Sheldon didn't know what to do next so he sat still in the comfortable chair.

"Sheldon, what are you doing here?" Penny hissed as she walked toward him. Sheldon caught her gaze and they stared each other down. Sheldon cleared his throat.

"I could ask you the same thing, Penny." He calmly replied. The thought of Penny stripping for him made him grow harder in his pants. He needed to remain focused on the task at hand. When he thought about what the task was, his mind blanked. He had already completed the task at hand, which was to find out if Nebraska was indeed Penny. He really hadn't thought this through.

"Obviously I work here." She snapped. Sheldon rolled his eyes at her. Obviously.

"The premise is _why_ do you work here, Penny." Sheldon clarified. Penny huffed.

"Sheldon, do you know how much money I make in a night? I make close to $600 per night! That's two weeks' worth of pay from The Cheesecake Factory." She told him. Sheldon pursed his lips together. His eyes raked down her body. After seeing her expose herself to him, he wanted more.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work." She said while pointing toward the door. Sheldon smirked and sat forward in his chair resting his elbows on his knees. Penny looked like she was getting irritated with him.

"Penny, I've already paid $200 to spend time with you. Now from what I understand, there was an exchange of money for goods and services. I have yet to receive any goods or services from you, so unless I can get a refund, I would like for you to continue." Sheldon factually stated. Penny's mouth hung open as she tried to find the words to say. She closed her mouth and quirked the corners of her mouth up into a smile.

"Fine." She quickly replied as she shook out her hair. Sheldon sat back in his chair as Penny straddled him. The song changed to Time is Running Out by Muse. Penny slowly ground herself against Sheldon's growing hardness as the music picked up. The thick bass line invaded Sheldon's auditory senses and Penny leaned in and gently breathed in his ear.

"You like that, Sheldon?" Penny teasingly whispered. He looked into her emerald eyes as she unclasped her bra again. His breath hitched in his throat as he nodded. The lyrics invaded his ears.

_You will be the death of me._

_Yeah, you will be the death of me._

She let her bra fall to the floor, Sheldon licked his lips as he studied the swell of her chest. Penny grasped his wrists and placed his palms against her breasts. As he kneaded her firm tits in his hands, she ground against his hard erection. Penny let out a small sigh and Sheldon could see the outline of her sex through her damp thong. His heart rate accelerated at the thought of peeling away the fabric to see what was underneath.

Penny stood up and turned around. Sheldon eagerly hooked his finger into the back of her thong and pulled her back onto him. Penny's breasts were exposed and she worked her ass against his clothed manhood. Sheldon groaned into her ear and splayed his hand across her lower abdomen. He gently held her in place, as she worked her way along his hardness. The scent of Penny was amazing, she smelled like baby powder and orchids. Sheldon gently pressed his lips against Penny's neck, he could feel her pulse hammering against his soft lips.

_You will squeeze the life out of me._

Penny turned her head and their lips met, the feeling could only be described as electricity sizzling between them. Penny moved her lips against Sheldon's and he quickly followed her lead. Soon his primal instincts took over and he forced his tongue into her mouth. He had an overwhelming urge to taste her. Penny moaned and grasped at his hand that was pressing just above her aching sex. Sheldon felt her move his hand into her wet panties. She was completely waxed free of hair. Sheldon slowly moved his fingers toward her radiating heat. He brushed the tips of his fingers against her slick folds and she cried out when his fingers pressed against her clit. His fingers slid against her wetness and he plunged a finger into her. She was tight, wet and hot. It was a sensation that Sheldon would remember for the rest of his life. Sheldon couldn't think straight, his brain was foggy and he was getting lost in everything that was happening.

_Yeah, you will suck the life out of me._

Sheldon quickly took his hand out of her panties and tried to stop before he came into his clothing.

"Penny, oh God.. we-" He said into her mouth. She bit at his lip to shut him up and he pulled away from her.

"Penny, we can't. Not like this." He said, the way it came out it almost sounded like he was begging her. His breathing was heavy and ragged, and his eyes were wild and dilated. Penny nodded her head and got up from her laying down position on Sheldon. Sheldon sat and watched her put back on her bra as he caught his breath. He pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes and gently rubbed them. How did this happen? Their relationship could never be the same after this.

Sheldon quickly stood up at the sound of a knock on the door, a voice sounded into the room telling him that his time was up. He glanced at Penny and quickly took her into his embrace. He softly kissed her lips and then pulled away.

"Penny, I want to talk to you about this later, okay?" He asked. Penny nodded and he pulled away and walked out of the room. He quickly adjusted himself in his pants and walked out to the main area of the club. He returned to the table and his friends eyed him with disbelief. Sheldon's face was flushed and his lips were kiss swollen. He sat down and shamefully avoided their gazes.

"What was her name?" Howard asked in a low register, he quickly raised up his eyebrows. Sheldon looked up toward the roof and let out a sigh. He was in big trouble.

"Nebraska." He said wistfully. The table erupted into cheers and hollers about Sheldon's stripper success. His friends didn't know just how much trouble he was actually in. After another half hour of being in the club, the boys decided to call it a night. Sheldon was thankful, he could only replay the encounter he had with Penny in his brain so many times.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright! Thank you for following, favouriting, and reviewing! I enjoyed reading all of your reviews and I even got a couple of good suggestions for the next chapter. Reviews are appreciated and encouraged. I have anonymous reviews on, so if you're shy, don't worry!**

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Penny would always remember the only time her mom let her watch her as she got ready for work. Penny was a small child; she was probably four and a half or five years old. She remembered lying in bed and being woken up for some reason. The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar, the dull incandescent light poured into the bedroom that she shared with her older sister. Penny got up out of her My Little Pony themed bed, and slowly walked toward the bathroom with her favorite Care Bear, Wish Bear, clutched in her tiny hands.

She peered into the bathroom and saw her mother's reflection in the mirror. She was spritzing herself with her perfume, which smelled like a mixture of flowers and talc. When she caught Penny's little gaze staring at her through the crack in the door, Penny froze, she felt like she had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Her mom smiled and opened the door. Penny was quickly being picked up and sat on the counter. Penny remembered how her mother was dressed. She had her short silk robe tightly cinched around her small waist and she wore her brunette hair in Velcro rollers.

"What are you doing up, Little Girl?" Her mom asked. Penny clutched her Care Bear to her chest as her mother smoothed down her wild blond hair and brushed her bangs off of her forehead. Penny shrugged her shoulders and looked into her mom's striking green eyes. She always thought her mom had the prettiest eyes.

"You couldn't sleep?" She softly asked. Penny quickly shook her head and looked down to the floor. Her mom smiled and pulled her into her embrace. Penny loved her mom's hugs. Her dad was too busy wishing she was a boy, to hug her like that. Penny never got to see pretty things like make up and perfume. Instead, she was being groomed to help out on the farm and swing a baseball bat. Dad's little Slugger.

Penny didn't understand why she was seen as a boy in her father's eyes, because she already had a brother. Her mom pulled away and began to apply her make up. Penny watched as she applied different creams and powders to her face. Penny giggled when her mom dusted a bit of powder on her nose to make her pretty too. As the two of them sat in the bathroom sharing some girl time together, Penny's dad came stumbling down the hallway. He was wearing a white t-shirt and his blue plaid pajama bottoms, his hair was sticking up every which way.

"Lynn, can you keep it down? I have to be up at-" He quietly started. He saw Penny sitting on the counter getting ready with her mom and cut his sentence short.

"Hey Slugger, you should be in bed." He said in a high, friendly voice. He came into the bathroom and picked her up off the counter. As he walked out of the bathroom, Penny caught her mother's gaze. She looked sad, but she was smiling. She waved at Penny just before she was carried out of sight. Her dad tucked her in and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Wish Bear too, Daddy." Penny pleaded as she held out her stuffed animal. Wyatt kissed Penny's stuffed animal on the forehead and then tucked the bear into the covers. He turned around and closed his daughter's bedroom door. Penny could hear him talking to her mother in the bathroom across the hall.

"I do not want you to be exposing her to stuff like this, Lynn. She's a little girl for Christ's sake!" Her dad scolded. Penny laid in her bed and listened.

"Wyatt, you're making a mountain out of a mole hill, she's fine. She doesn't know what I do at my job." Lynn countered.

"It doesn't matter, Lynn. She's a child and I will not have you exposing my daughter to your brothel job!" He retorted quite loudly. Penny closed her eyes and listened to her parents bicker back and forth. She rolled onto her side and clutched Wish Bear close to her body.

"I wish to be pretty like Mommy when I grow up." Penny whispered into her Care Bear's ear. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep to the sound of her parents arguing in angry hushed tones. Her parents separated shortly after that night and Penny couldn't help but blame herself. If only she would have stayed in bed, maybe they wouldn't have left each other. Penny couldn't get the memory out of her head while she drove home from her shift.

Penny clued in to what her mom did for a living when she was growing up. It wasn't until a pattern emerged and she was constantly being asked to babysit her toddler nephew as a teenager, while his eighteen year old mom left to go make some money to pay the bills. That's all it was, a means to an end. It seemed logical to her that she do that as well when her bills became a little tight.

Tears welled up in her eyes and blurred her vision as she drove. She quickly wiped them away and took in a shaky breath. The look of disappointment on Sheldon's face made her feel sick to her stomach. What she did with him in the VIP room made her feel terrible, but amazing at the same time. This instance most likely solidified his notion of her as a promiscuous woman. He had already pegged the number of men she slept with, she didn't even want to know what he thought about her now.

When she recalled his fingers pressing against her, she almost lost it. She didn't even think Sheldon had a deal, but there he was, pressing his lips against her neck as he breathed in her scent. Their encounter would plague Penny's thoughts for the rest of her days. It was incredibly hot, and she wished she could just stay in that moment with him forever. She recalled back to when they first met, his awkwardness was so cute and Penny always had a thing for tall guys. He seemed to not be interested, so Penny gave up on pursuing him.

She couldn't deny that he was entering her thoughts more and more lately, even when she was dating Leonard up until about three weeks prior. When they had sex, she imagined that he was Sheldon. Fantasies about his long fingers exploring her body filled her head. She knew that if it ever were to happen, the sex would probably be disappointing, but in her fantasies, he was an amazing lover. While having sex with Leonard before they broke up, she imagined his slender body hovering over her while he fucked her. She mistakenly called out Sheldon's name.

When Leonard asked her what she said, she said that they were going to wake up Sheldon. The sex ended on a fizzling note. Leonard became suspicious of her, he thought she was cheating on him. He even boldly accused her of it, asking her to explain her whereabouts on the weekends and why she would come into his bed late at night smelling like other men. Penny couldn't reveal what she was doing for extra cash, so she got defensive and told him to drop dead. They hadn't spoken in weeks.

Penny pulled into the back parking lot of her apartment building and parked her car. She wanted nothing more than to get into a hot shower and scrub herself clean. It was 2:30 in the morning and everything was silent. She tip toed up the stairwell to her apartment, just another landing and she could scrub away her evening. Penny made out pretty well, she took home $750 tonight. She liked working the VIP room because she always made out with tons of cash.

Tonight was the first night she did anything like that at work. She didn't know why she let go of her better judgement and gave into Sheldon like that. Maybe it was the fact it was Sheldon. When his expression changed from disappointment to what could only be described as hunger, a flip switched on in her brain and she was sure, she would have done anything he told her. Penny pulled out her keys and they jangled in her hand. She quickly unlocked her door, tossed her things down and quickly walked to her bathroom.

Penny turned on the shower and quickly got in. She sat down on the floor of the tub and just let the water wash over her. She couldn't help feeling really bad about herself in that pathetic moment. There she was, coming home just like her mother had and washed the sweat of countless men off her body. Penny clutched her knees to her chest and began to cry, her sobs came out uncontrolled and raw. She had to mentally remind herself that she wasn't her mother. The more she tried to deny it, the more the fact stuck out like a sore thumb.

Her heart broke and fell apart. It was like the Penny who she used to be, when she first moved to California with the aspirations of becoming an actress, was washing down the drain. Every time, she washed off the glitter and cologne, a little piece of her would die and would be washed away too. In that moment, she felt like an empty shell of a woman. After her crying was controlled, Penny finished showering and got ready for bed. The soft sounds of very early morning Pasadena street lulled her to sleep. Tomorrow, Penny would just be Penny.

The morning sun flooded Penny's room causing her to stir awake. Her turquoise sheets were twisted around her legs and her hair was a mess of relaxed curls. Penny shot awake at the sound of Sheldon knocking at her front door.

_Knock Knock Knock_

"Penny!" He yelled through her door. How long had he been knocking?

_Knock Knock Knock_

"Penny!" She quickly got up out of bed and bolted to the front door.

_Knock Knock Knock_

"Penny!" Sheldon finished, Penny unlocked her door and thrust it open. She didn't even know what time it was. Probably after 11. Sheldon pushed past her and walked into her apartment. Seeing him after their indiscretion made her feel nervous. He was dressed in his normal attire, instead of the out of character clothing he was sporting last night. In the light of the day, he was just Sheldon and she was just Penny. There was no reason for this to be awkward. It was just two friends, having a casual conversation about how one gave the other a lap dance and how the other finger banged her while she did so. Her cheeks flushed as she moved further into her apartment.

"Sheldon, things got out of hand last night and I think we should forget the whole thing ever happened." Penny said in an attempt to smooth over the situation the two of them found themselves in. Sheldon folded his arms across his chest and Penny could see his forearm flex. Fuck. Why did that have to trigger some primal urge hiding deep within her? She could see thoughts momentarily flash across his face.

"You want me to forget? Penny, that's just something I don't have the capability of doing." He quickly said. It almost sounded like he was hurt by her notion. Sheldon took a few steps toward her, she was standing so close to him. He smelled like laundry detergent and Old Spice. Penny's eyes traveled up his forearms and settled on his blue eyes. Sheldon gripped at her arms and his look seemed to intensify.

"Penny, I will _never_ forget how you felt." Penny licked at her lips, she just wanted to bury her face in his neck and taste his skin. She reached out and touched his cheek, her heart pounded in her chest, this wasn't like before, it wasn't rushed and heated. It was slowly burning, glowing embers singed just under her skin. He grasped at her hand and kissed the heel of her palm. Penny felt her knees go weak, luckily Sheldon was there to wrap his arms around her waist and steady her.

"Sheldon…" Penny softly whispered. Her eyes quickly darted across his face before she brought her lips to his. Their kiss was soft and tender. She wanted to take her time to explore this same but different man that stood in her living room. Sheldon kissed her with uncertainty, she could feel the slight hesitation in his movements as he gently took her bottom lip into his mouth. When his lips parted, Penny gently licked at his tongue. She could still taste the mouth wash that lingered on his taste buds. Sheldon tensed up for a moment while she prodded at the inside of his mouth in between soft kisses. He lightly touched his tongue to her top lip, the shock that flew down her spine made her pull away.

"Penny, I want to do this with you, but I don't think I can." Sheldon quickly said. Penny looked at him with confusion. Why would he say that? Penny pulled away from his embrace and searched his face. He was dead serious.

"What? Why? Sheldon, you were fine like two seconds ago." Penny complained, her voice came out hurt and defensive. She stood in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's not that I don't want to. I just can't be involved with someone in your line of work." He confessed. Penny stood there, slack-jawed. She couldn't believe him, how dare he come into her apartment and tell her that he can't be with a whore.

"So you can't be involved with a waitress then? Or do you have a problem with actresses?" Penny asked. She needed him to say it, she needed him to tell her what he really thought of her. She felt the embers that were glowing come to life in a fiery hell blaze. Her whole body was set to light with anger.

"You know what I'm trying to say." Sheldon quietly said. Penny felt the tears sting her eyes. What a fucking asshole.

"You don't even know, Sheldon. Thanks, thank you for coming into my life and judging me when I'm at my most vulnerable." She angrily spat, choking back the tears that were threatening to over flow onto her cheeks. She glared at him and watched as he squirmed in the spot in which he stood.

"Penny, it's not that." Sheldon said trying to reassure her. Penny's warm tears streaked her face. She hated him for making her cry.

"Oh fuck you, I know that you think I'm a whore! Just so we're clear, I'm not!" Penny barked as she took a step toward him. She wiped away her tears, she was not going to let him shred away her dignity.

"I know, you're not! I just don't understand why you think that's an acceptable way to make a living. You have so much more potential than that, you are just too indolent to realize it!" He shouted. Penny scoffed. She quickly grasped his shirt and began forcefully dragging him out of her apartment. Sheldon was pretty tough for a scrawny nerd. He stopped in his tracks and gripped her by the bicep. Penny couldn't believe him.

"Don't! Don't fucking touch me, Sheldon!" She angrily shrieked while trying to loosen his grip on her arm. He quickly put both hands around her biceps and held her still. Their eyes locked and they stared each other down. Penny didn't understand why she felt so incredibly turned on. She felt herself throbbing for him, aching for him to be on her. She forcefully pressed her lips to his and he backed her into the front door, rattling it on its hinges.

Penny grasped at the back of his head while she angrily bit at his lip. Sheldon moaned into her mouth and picked her up into his arms. Penny could feel her shorts dampen. Sheldon pressed her back against the door and he ground his arousal into her. Penny moaned and raked her nails across his back. She quickly buried her face into his neck, nipping along his creamy skin and running her hands through his short dark hair.

Sheldon took her into her bedroom. Penny didn't protest. Sheldon tossed her on the bed and crawled in between her legs. Without missing a beat, Penny tugged his shirts over his head and disposed of them beside her bed onto her already messy floor. Sheldon worked at taking his pants off while Penny shimmied up her mattress to retrieve a condom. While she was digging through her nightstand her ass stuck up in the air, she felt Sheldon's hardness press against her ass. She worked herself onto him while he aggressively tugged at her Hello Kitty shorts.

Penny wanted him inside her more than she could ever comprehend. The need to be devoured by him overwhelmed her. She quickly got up to her knees and took off her shirt. She pressed her back against his chest and allowed him to fondle her tits. Sheldon pinched and pulled at her hardened nipples as he roughly kissed up her neck, his cheek was slightly rugged with the beginning of his 5 o'clock shadow.

"Oh yeah, I like it rough." Penny groaned. Sheldon took her earlobe into his mouth and gently bit down. Penny grasped his hands and rushed to guide them into her shorts.

"Do you ever stop talking?" Sheldon breathed into her ear as he ran his fingers down into her slick folds. Penny lolled her head back and leaned it against his shoulder as he plunged two fingers into her tight entrance. Penny's shaky hands opened the condom while she turned around to look at Sheldon.

She practically drooled at the sight of his thick, hard manhood. She grasped him in her hand and placed the latex over his soft head. She could feel him shudder when she rolled the condom over his tip and down his shaft. Sheldon desperately grasped at her shorts, pulling them down her legs. She suddenly felt shy when his gaze fell to her dewy lips. No time for shyness, Penny.

Penny pushed him down on his back and climbed out of her pajama shorts as she straddled his thighs. Sheldon licked his lips as he placed his nervous hands on her thighs. Penny took his swollen arousal into her hand and pumped her fist along his ridged shaft. Sheldon let out a groan as she rubbed him against her engorged clit. Their eyes met and Penny pressed his tip against her slick entrance.

She cried out as she stretched around his thick head. Slowly, she impaled herself down his length. She could feel him splitting and filling her, in ways she couldn't describe. Sheldon looked like he was going to die. She wasn't sure how long he was going to last, part of her didn't care. Her hips ground against him as she leaned back to give him an eyeful. Penny reached down and began furiously rubbing at her sensitive pleasure button.

Sheldon began thrusting his hips to meet her in the middle. Deep grunts escaped his lips as their bodies met. Penny turned around on his pulsating erection and began to ride him reverse cowgirl. Penny's breaths were coming out hard and fast. She remembered that he had called her indolent; she worked herself along him harder and faster. The anger melted away with every hip gyration. Sheldon grasped at her hips and pulled her onto him hard. She felt him jerk into the condom, as he cried out to a deity he didn't believe in.

She missed out on her orgasm. While he softened inside of her, Penny rubbed at her clit. She cried out as she pinched at herself with her thumb and index finger. Penny's walls tightened around her semi-hard neighbor. Her orgasm rocked through her core and sizzled along her extremities. Penny removed herself from Sheldon and laid down on the bed beside him. He looked over at her with a spent expression, she smiled at his after-sex face. Sheldon propped himself up on his elbow and he stared at her, gently raking his eyes along her delicate curves.

"Penny, please quit your job." Sheldon pleaded as he met her gaze. Penny looked at the sincerity in his eyes and let out a sigh. She knew he was right, she was better than that, instead she had taken the easy way out rather than actually trying.

"Why do you hate it so much?" Penny asked. She knew there had to be more to it than Sheldon just didn't like strippers. He licked his lips and laid down on his back. He took off the condom and knotted it off. As he placed it on his stomach he let out a deep breath he seemed to have been holding.

"When I was a child, my parents got divorced. My father would take me duck hunting with my brother as the court gave him unsupervised visitation rights. I would usually spend that time reading comic books or doing calculus for fun. Afterward, he would make me sit in his vile pickup truck while he frequented an establishment called Ocean Cabaret. He would get quite drunk and then drive me to my mother's house. That's why Penny." Sheldon told her like he was telling her about Quarks and M-Theory. Penny's heart broke for him.

"Sheldon, I'm so sorry. I had no idea." Penny quietly said to him. Sheldon looked at her and he frowned.

"How could you? I've managed to keep that secret my entire life, until just now." Sheldon said factually. Penny pursed her lips and let out a sigh.

"The reason I thought it was alright to take a job like this, was because when I was a child, my mother was a stripper. She took the job when my dad was having a tough year with the crops. She did it to pay the bills, Sheldon, just like I do it to pay the bills." She confessed. Sheldon nodded and looked back up to the ceiling.

"I'm going to make some breakfast, because I'm starving and it's now noon. You're welcome to my shower if you like, Sweetie." Penny said as she got up and put on her robe. Sheldon smiled and got up off her bed. He collected his clothing from off the floor and walked toward her bathroom.

"Penny?" He said while turning around. He held his clothes in front of himself to regain some modesty. Penny smiled at the sight when she turned her head toward him.

"Yeah?" She quickly asked.

"I really do think you have the potential to do something more with your life." He told her. Penny blushed and gave him a half smile.

"Thank you, Sheldon. That means a lot." Penny replied, expressing her gratitude. Sheldon turned around giving her a good look at his ass. Penny broke out into a grin, who knew that Sheldon Cooper had a cute bum? The door to the bathroom closed and Penny let out a sigh. She was really going to miss all the money she was making, but to have a shot at this, whatever this was, she would be a fool to pass it up.

Penny walked out into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She listened to the shower run and couldn't help but think about the man in the shower. Sheldon Fucking Cooper. She just had angry sex with Sheldon. Butterflies filled her stomach when she thought about his slender fingers on her body. She wasn't going to be able to think straight for a week.


	3. Chapter 3

Penny kept herself busy with work over the next week, she picked up a few double shifts in addition to her regular schedule so she didn't have to drive out to Pomona over the weekend. She didn't go last weekend either, though she didn't technically quit, she just didn't go. It was a start at least. Tuesdays were becoming just like every other night she worked, as the boys didn't really come in since her and Leonard broke up. Penny was surprised to see them occupying their regular table. She cautiously walked over to the table, she avoided locking eyes with any of them. This wasn't going to be awkward.

"Hey guys! Long time, no see! Let's see if I can remember… Leonard will have the quesadilla and a diet coke, Howard will have the spinach salad and an iced tea, Raj will have the small ham and pineapple pizza with a water and lemon and Sheldon will have the barbeque bacon cheeseburger, barbeque sauce, bacon and cheese on the side with a lemonade to drink." Penny finished with a small smirk on her face. Her eyes met Sheldon's and he gave her a knowing smile. She felt her stomach fill with butterflies when she recalled their intimate time spent together. She licked at her lips and quickly tore her gaze away from his. Leonard looked between them and frowned a bit.

"Thanks Penny." Leonard quickly said as he handed his menu over to her. Howard and Raj gave her small smiles and nods. Penny felt slightly awkward. It had been over a month since she spoke to Leonard and she wasn't even sure what he was doing here. Penny weakly smiled and turned around so she could place their order. Sheldon quickly grasped her wrist to stop her. His grip was gentle, but purposeful. Penny felt goose bumps tickle up her arms. She quickly spun around and met his fiery gaze. Penny's breathing quickened and she felt her cheeks flush with color.

"Penny, I have something for you that you may find interesting." Sheldon quickly said. Penny narrowed her eyes and snatched her wrist away from his grasp. He rummaged through his messenger bag and pulled out a newspaper. Penny took it from him and noticed that he had circled quite a few job advertisements in the classified section. Penny clutched the paper to her chest, she was angry that he couldn't wait for a better time to present this information to her, but she was also flattered that he was thinking about her, when he could have been thinking about other things, like science stuff.

"Sheldon, you can't give me the classified section circled with jobs while I'm at work." Penny told him in a hushed tone as she stepped toward him and leaned in. Sheldon pursed his lips and narrowed his gaze. Penny bit at her cheek as she resisted the urge to kiss his soft lips.

"Please just have a look. I've taken your interests into account, so I don't anticipate that you'll be disappointed." Sheldon softly told her. Her eyes darted across his facial features, his light blue eyes were like a clear summer's day, she quickly admired his angular jawline and finally her eyes fell to his soft full bottom lip.

"Fine, I'll look later tonight." She said giving into him and tucking the paper under her arm. He smiled and motioned for her to go. Penny quickly looked at the other men at the table. They watched the two of them with confusion and curiosity. Penny blushed and quickly turned around and headed on her original path to put in their order. After checking on her other tables and bringing the boys their drinks, Penny sat in the back for a few minutes looking over the job ads that Sheldon circled for her. Only one of them was circled with red sharpie, the rest were circled in blue ball-point pen. Penny quickly read it over.

_HBO Assistant – HBO Entertainment_

_Ideal candidate should have a polished manner, be a quick study, possess exceptional multi-tasking abilities and be an independent thinker who is very detail oriented with excellent organizational skills. Being a team player is a must as well as being personable and easy-going. Must be proficient in Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel. This position provides support by keeping daily calendar, answering phones, rolling calls, preparing expense reports, and making travel arrangements. _

Penny's eyes lit up, she excitedly stuffed the paper in her purse and thought about her resume which would have to be updated. She couldn't believe that Sheldon really did take her interests into account. She glanced at the clock and she figured they would probably need refills and she had other tables to check on as well. Quickly, she made her way back into the restaurant with a tray of refills for the boys' table. She overheard Leonard whispering to Sheldon as she set down his drink.

"I don't understand why you're so concerned with Penny's profession. She seems to be doing fine as a waitress." Leonard instantly shut up when she set his drink down in front of him, if only he knew. Sheldon smirked at Leonard and glanced up at Penny who set down his lemonade. Penny and Sheldon shared a smile and he turned his attention back to the table.

"Penny is my friend Leonard. I just want to see her live up to her potential, so I am assisting her with her professional quandary." He explained as Leonard tried to sink into his chair to disappear from the embarrassment that Sheldon had caused him. Penny couldn't help but blush. She felt like that wasn't the only reason he wanted her to find a new job. Maybe he could help her with sprucing up her resume and she could thank him for all of his efforts. Penny left to check on her other tables and grab the boys' food. She checked out her other tables and waited for the guys to finish up their meals. Penny picked up their plates and dropped off the check. As they were leaving, Sheldon stopped and pulled her to the side. He watched to make sure his friends had left the restaurant. His hands rested on her forearms as he stared down at her. Penny felt her stomach twist up into knots as he moved his hand from her forearm to gently rest on her cheek.

"Penny, please just consider the options that have been offered to you." He quietly said. She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him into a tight squeeze. His hands gently rested on her shoulder blades. His fingertips lightly traced the lines of her back and she let out a small sigh.

"Thank you Sheldon." Penny said into his chest. She pulled away and stared into his cool blue eyes. She smiled and walked away from him and returned to work. She didn't look back to see if he was still there, because she was determined to finish her shift on a high note.

After a few more hours, Penny finished up in the restaurant and climbed into her car. She was going to apply for that job and she was going to get it. It was time for the universe to pay back some of the karma that Penny had put out there. As she drove, she couldn't help but think about Sheldon. He was so sincere in his gesture, she wondered if it was because he wanted to be with her or if he just couldn't be friends with someone like her. She hoped it was the former. The moment they shared together over a week ago was amazing. It was something she definitely wanted more of. Penny pulled into the back parking lot of her building, she felt relieved to be home. She quickly made her way up the stairwell and pressed into her apartment.

Penny changed out of her work uniform and into a pair of sweats and a tight fitting v-neck t-shirt. She grabbed her laptop off of her bed and sat down on the couch. She pulled up a blank word document and stared at it. Wanting an excuse to see him, Penny got up off of the couch and took her laptop with her across the hall. She stood nervously in front of 4A. Her knuckles lightly rapped on the door. It was the first time in over a month that she knocked on their door. Sheldon answered the door, he leaned against the door jam and smiled down at her. Penny clutched her pink laptop to her chest and returned his pleasant disposition.

"Hello, Penny." He said in a slight Texan accent that made Penny melt on the inside. He moved to the side to allow her to come in. She sat down on the middle cushion of the couch and Sheldon joined her on the right. She set her laptop on the coffee table and nervously placed her hands in her lap. The apartment was quiet and Penny wondered where Leonard was.

"Sheldon I need your help. I want to apply for one of those jobs that you circled, but my resume is very out of date. You're smart, you know about this kind of stuff. Can you help me?" Penny asked, she tried her best to sound like a damsel in distress. Sheldon half smiled at her.

"You know that there are templates built right into the word processing program you are using for that specific purpose?" He suspiciously asked her as he took her candy colored computer into his lap. She blushed and bit at her lip.

"Oh." She replied. Penny knew what Sheldon told her was correct, she just wanted to spend some time with him. As his fingertips clacked along her keyboard, she watched. His fingers were long and dexterous. She knew that he would know what to do with them with the proper instruction. Quickly she grasped his hand and caught his gaze. She removed the laptop from his lap and set it on the coffee table. Penny apprehensively pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes and placing her hand on his cheek. She couldn't imagine going another week without feeling his soft lips on hers. Her hand ran across his light stubble, up through his hair as she gently moved her mouth against his.

Penny slowly parted her lips and Sheldon eagerly slipped his tongue past them. Penny let out a soft moan and pressed her other palm flush against his broad chest, she could feel his steady heartbeat thumping against her hand. As he gently explored her mouth, Penny felt his hands adventuring along her back and up her shirt. She tried to press forward by crawling into his lap, but Sheldon pulled away and searched her face, his eyes were wild and his cheeks were flushed.

"Penny, wait." He quickly said. Penny didn't want to hear what he had to say. She didn't want this to be like last time. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried her best to not look defensive.

"What?" She impatiently asked. Sheldon pursed his lips together and studied her face.

"Leonard is in his bedroom, so to avoid hurt feelings, I'm going to suggest that we move this to my bedroom." He replied. Penny smiled and quickly kissed him on the lips. They stood up from the couch, Sheldon grasped her hand and led her to his bedroom. The door clicked closed behind them and she let her eyes adjust to the dark room. Sheldon wrapped his arms around her waist and began pulling up her shirt. Penny sighed as he softly kissed at her neck and teased the soft skin just above the waistband of her sweats with his fingertips.

Penny quickly took her shirt off and let it fall to Sheldon's immaculately clean floor. Sheldon pressed his hands against her abdomen and ran them up her body. A shiver ran up her spine when he cupped her breasts in his hands. She wasn't the most endowed girl that she knew, but she seemed to fill his large hands perfectly. His hardness pressed against her backside through his pants and Sheldon groaned into her hair as she ground her ass against him. Penny slowly turned around and pulled Sheldon's shirts off of his body. She admired his creamy skin, soft freckles and lean muscles. Her fingertips gently touched his abdomen and she ran her digits along the small trail of hair that disappeared into his pants. Sheldon grasped at her hand and pressed forward toward his bed.

Sheldon gently guided Penny to the bed and she laid down on her back. Penny gasped when Sheldon roughly tugged her sweats down her legs. She watched as he removed his pants and discarded them along with their other clothes on the floor. Penny playfully bit her lip at him as he crawled up the mattress, slowly kissing up her soft skin, positioning himself between her legs. She let out an audible moan when he pressed his body against hers, grinding his arousal into her damp panties. Penny lightly raked her fingernails down Sheldon's back as he buried his face in between her breasts and gently licked and nibbled at her heaving chest.

"Tell me what to do, Penny." Sheldon implored as he tugged at her bra, releasing her nipple from the confines of the soft cotton fabric. Penny softly whimpered when he took her nipple into his mouth and gently grazed his teeth over her sensitive flesh. Her hands found their way to his head and she ran her fingers through his baby soft hair, ruffling his normally structured tresses.

"Oh God, Sheldon. Don't stop, please don't stop." Penny pleaded as his fingertips hooked into the sides of her hip hugging panties. As he removed the fabric from her glistening center, Sheldon kissed down her thighs with every inch of flesh he exposed. Penny pressed her head into the mattress and squirmed underneath him when she felt his hot breath against her inner thigh. She felt him grip her thighs and tug her body a bit closer to him. His fingertips ran along her thigh like he was creating a treasure map. Penny propped herself on her elbows so she could watch him study her where 'X' marked the spot.

It looked as though he was mentally trying to store everything into his big beautiful brain, Penny smirked and caught his gaze. Sheldon returned her sly smile as he ran a finger along her slick folds. Penny gasped when he slipped one of his long fingers into her. Their gaze never broke as he removed his finger from her wet core and licked her wetness off of his finger. Penny almost came at the thought of him tasting her, making a meal out of her and devouring her.

Sheldon gently kissed at her most sensitive parts, and Penny gripped at the sheets when she felt him dart his tongue against her aching core. Sheldon plunged two fingers into Penny as he took her clit into his hot burning mouth, Penny felt the intensity of everything happening to her all at once. Penny cried out and she quickly grabbed one of his pillows to muffle her moans. She knew how loud she could get, she was also pretty sure that Leonard could hear them. She cried out into the pillow as Sheldon pleaded for her to cum as his fingers gently stroked her g-spot. Penny's hips bucked as she felt her orgasm overflow like hot lava across her skin. Sheldon continued to suck and lick at her, and it became to be too much.

"St- sto-, Oh god. Please.. please stop." She begged and she thrashed underneath him. Sheldon looked up at her with a worried look displayed on his face. Penny stared up at the ceiling trying to recover from the orgasm that just finished rocking her universe.

"Was that unsatisfactory?" Sheldon quietly asked. Penny propped herself up on her elbows and smiled at him. He sure was cute. She got up and crawled toward him, as she sat down beside him on the mattress, she grasped his hand into hers.

"That was perfect." Penny reassured him. She kissed him and she could faintly taste herself on his lips. She pulled away and laid back down on the mattress, gently coaxing him on top of her. His lips found their way to her neck and he kissed along the pulse that jumped into her throat.

"Hey, Sheldon are you in there?" Leonard asked as he knocked on the door. Penny and Sheldon's gaze snapped toward the door. Neither of them even dared to breath. Sheldon looked at Penny who still eyed the door as if it was going to bite her.

"Stay here." Sheldon whispered as he got up off the bed and threw on his robe. Penny watched as he opened the door a crack, she could hear her pulse hammering in her ears. She could see his silhouette against the bright light of the hallway. She listened as Sheldon began to speak.

"What?" He impatiently asked. Penny choked back a laugh at his annoyance of the situation.

"Was Penny here? Her laptop is in the living room." Leonard said. His voice was slightly muffled, so she had to really concentrate on that half of the conversation. What he said suddenly registered in her brain. Her laptop was still sitting on the coffee table. She silently flopped on the bed and ran her hands over her face.

"I was helping her with her resume." Sheldon quickly explained. She could hear Leonard shift on the other side of the door. Penny looked up at the clock on his night stand. It was 9:58, at least it didn't seem to be out of place for Sheldon to be in his room.

"Can't this wait until tomorrow, Leonard? I'm currently preoccupied at the moment." Sheldon said trying to get Leonard out of their hair. Penny smirked. Preoccupied, indeed.

"Yeah, it can wait, but do you mind turning down your laptop? I didn't even think that you watched porn." Leonard told him as he let out a yawn. Penny could hear the annoyance in his voice. What a hypocrite, he didn't mind being loud and he often encouraged it when they were together. Penny felt her anxiety rise a couple of notches when she thought about what was going to happen next.

"Sheldon Sweetie, come back to bed." Penny softly called to him, making sure Leonard could hear her. Her stomach twisted up into nervous knots as she thought about the consequences to her actions. Sheldon quickly snapped his attention toward her, Penny could only grin at him. Sheldon returned his attention to his friend through the crack in the door.

"Is Penny in your bedroom, Sheldon?" Leonard loudly whispered. Sheldon looked back at her and then back to Leonard. Penny smirked to herself, she didn't care what Leonard thought.

"I have to go Leonard." Sheldon quickly said as he gently closed the door in his roommate's face and locked it. He turned toward Penny and stalked toward her with his hands behind his back. Penny grinned up at him as he sat down on the edge of the bed. Penny crawled toward him and sat down behind him. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body against his back. He turned his head and she softly touched her lips to his.

Penny moved so that she was sitting in his lap, she undid the tie on his robe and pushed it down his shoulders as she took his bottom lip into her mouth. She stood up and quickly took off his underwear and unhooked her bra, letting the rest of their clothes fall to the floor. She would never forget the impressiveness that was Sheldon Cooper, but when she set her gaze on his growing erection, she felt like she had her breath stolen from her. Penny pushed him backward on the mattress and settled in between his legs. She gently kissed along his thighs and up his hip bone. Sheldon sighed when she grasped his thick manhood in her hand. She teasingly kissed up his shaft and licked at his tip like it was a lollipop.

Sheldon gripped at the sheets and let out a small moan when Penny took his head into her hot mouth and swirled her tongue around his thick tip. Penny moaned when she slowly took him further into her mouth, the sound vibrated through his body causing him to jerk his hips forward. Penny accommodated his intrusion into the back of her throat, by deliberately deep throating him. She could feel him throbbing against her esophagus, the feeling made her center dampen. Gently, she dragged her teeth back up his length. Sheldon sucked in a lungful of air as Penny generously bobbed her head up and down on his hardness.

"Oh Lord, Penny. That feels so… ohmygod…"Sheldon finished his incoherent sentence as a soft whisper. His chest heaved and Penny took him further into her mouth and gently sucked as he rocked his hips against her lips. Penny felt him twitch and he tried to pull away as he came, but she grasped at his hips and let him release in her mouth. As his seed splashed against her tongue, Penny swallowed his offering. He tasted slightly salty but also sweet. Like a chocolate covered pretzel, but not. Sheldon relaxed and Penny pulled away. He pulled her into his embrace and Penny snuggled up into his arms. She nuzzled into his neck as he rubbed his hand along her bicep.

"That was amazing." Sheldon mumbled. Penny smiled against his skin and he hugged her a bit tighter. She could get used to this. It was a giant relief to know that Leonard knew, and that they didn't have to hide. Tomorrow might be an explosive day, but tonight she could freely be with Sheldon without having to hide anything from anyone. She played with the small amount of hair that decorated his chest as she breathed in his scent. It made her feel safe and secure.

"Can we still work on my resume?" Penny softly asked. Sheldon looked down at her as if he forgot the original reason she had come over for. He nodded and moved to stand up.

"No, not tonight. Maybe tomorrow when you come back from work. I'll start it and you can look it over." Penny explained as he relaxed on the mattress. They laid together in a comfortable silence. Penny was sure that he was solving equations in his brain and she couldn't help but think about how easy this seemed. Sheldon came with a lot of stipulations, but it didn't seem to get in the way of a romantic relationship. Penny already accommodated him and she knew that he had a schedule and he probably came with a user manual, but it wasn't hard. It was easy to give into him, it was easy to compromise for him. Penny couldn't stop the butterflies when she thought about him and she certainly couldn't ignore the way he made her feel.

Penny thought about how he made her feel. Secure, beautiful, smart, she couldn't help but think that maybe she was falling for him. Perhaps she had already fallen for him, years ago, maybe it was when he sang her soft kitty when she dislocated her shoulder, or maybe it was when he supported her with her Penny Blossoms, or maybe it was when they took care of each other on Valentine's Day and neither of them could go to Switzerland because they were sick. Penny thought about all of these things as she drifted off to sleep in Sheldon's arms. Tomorrow was going to be a rough day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! I'm back! Sorry it took so long. I think that I will have one more chapter on this story before it's done. Thanks for sticking with me though this short fic!**

**Enjoy!  
**

Soft morning light filtered into Sheldon's room through his curtains. He groggily shifted on his mattress, stretching out as he stirred awake. His hand ran across the mattress in search of his overnight guest. She wasn't there, the soft blue sheets were cold and empty. Her flowery scent lingered on the pillow that she had occupied. Though Sheldon knew it was time to get up and that he had to go to work, he couldn't help but wish for five more minutes in bed with her. Sheldon rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and grasped his phone right before the alarm went off. He quickly turned it off and set his phone back down on the night stand.

The faint smell of coffee invaded his senses and he smiled to himself, she was still in the apartment. He sat up in bed and swung his legs off the bed. The floor was cold against the soles of his feet as he quickly pushed himself up off his bed to begin his morning routine. Sheldon quickly made his way out of his bedroom and grabbed a towel from the linen closet in the hallway. His Vulcan hearing picked up on some talking going on in the kitchen and he quietly stood in the hallway and listened.

"So you and Sheldon?" Leonard skeptically asked. Sheldon furrowed his brow. He didn't understand Leonard's piqued interest in their… whatever _this_ was. He quietly moved closer to the corner to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Yeah. Me and Sheldon." Penny answered. Her voice was colored with irritation. Sheldon smirked as he leaned against the wall.

"So was he the guy you were seeing behind my back?" Leonard snidely shot as he grasped a mug from the cupboard. Sheldon gritted his teeth together to keep his temper under wraps.

"Seriously? You're still beating that dead horse?!" Penny angrily retorted.

"Yeah, yeah I guess I am. What does he have that I don't? What did he give you that I couldn't?" Leonard quickly interjected. Penny snorted in defence.

"For a guy who is supposed to be a genius, you really are clueless. I NEVER cheated on you, Leonard." Penny defended as she raised her voice.

Sheldon felt his heart rate elevate and his palms begin to sweat. He didn't like confrontation, and he wanted to get his morning started. He took in a deep breath and began walking toward the kitchen. Penny was wearing her cute pink robe and had her hair up in a messy ponytail. Leonard was wearing his red robe and a prominent scowl on his face. Sheldon swallowed at the lump that had quickly formed in his throat as the duo snapped their attention toward him. Sheldon gripped at the dark blue towel he held in his hands and tried to mentally prepare to defuse the situation that he had walked into. His gaze shifted between the two as he took a few more cautious steps toward them.

"Good morning." He said, he tried for it not to come out as a question. He nervously quirked his mouth up into an awkward smile and set his towel down on an unoccupied bar stool. Leonard rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"I don't get it Sheldon, you had one lucky night with a stripper and suddenly you think you're Casanova!" Leonard blurted out in a hurt and angry tone. Sheldon quickly swallowed and looked over at Penny who narrowed her eyes at him. Quickly, she stood up and defensively folded her arms over her chest.

"You told him?" Penny impatiently questioned as she nodded her head toward Leonard. Her eyes glossed over with tears and Sheldon didn't know what to say, of course he wouldn't have told Leonard.

"Penny I-" He stammered out and before he could defend himself, Penny interrupted.

"I trusted you Sheldon. I can't believe you told him that I was stripping to pay my fucking rent." She said through the tears that fell from her eyes. Her arms fell to her sides. He wanted to grasp her hands in his, but he stood there frozen. Sheldon glanced over at Leonard, whose jaw was left on the floor.

"Penny, your language-" Sheldon started as he quickly darted his eyes back at her. Penny balled her hands into tiny fists and she clenched her jaw.

"Fuck off, Sheldon." Penny managed to quietly choke out. He felt his heart wretch with pain. Penny's eyes quickly darted across his face. Suddenly, her palm made contact with his cheek and the force of her slap caused his head to be thrown to the side. Sheldon grasped at the stinging flesh that burned on his face. As he regained his senses, he watched her storm out of his apartment, slamming the door behind her. With his hand still firmly attached to his burning cheek, he turned his attention toward Leonard who just stared at him.

"Dude…" Leonard said. Sheldon looked back at the door. He wasn't going to let her storm out of his life without giving him the chance to prove his innocence.

"Let the record show that I never told you about Penny's alternate profession, Penny did." Sheldon quietly said. Leonard nodded and turned around with his cup of coffee in hand and started his way down the hallway. Sheldon stood in the kitchen looking at the floor when Leonard interrupted his thoughts.

"So you and Penny, this is a new thing." He sheepishly asked.

"Leonard, just so we're clear, I was not seeing Penny behind your back while the two of you were together." Sheldon said as he turned around to face his roommate. Leonard pursed his lips and shamefully looked into his coffee.

"Also, what's wrong with me? What is so inconceivable about Penny being interested in me?" Sheldon quietly asked. Leonard sighed at the question and shifted his weight onto one foot.

"Sheldon, I didn't mean it like that." He started. Sheldon was growing annoyed with the nature of this conversation.

"Then _how_ did you mean it?" Sheldon interrupted. Leonard opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped. Sheldon took the opportunity to defend his honor.

"I can assure you, Leonard, that I am a viable suitor for Penny. I can also assure you that I have been able to satisfy her sexually in all of our carnal encounters, not that it's any of your business. I may be socially inept, and what invalids have deemed as 'nerdy', but Penny understands me. Not only does she understand me, she accepts who I am, she doesn't judge me, Leonard." Sheldon finished as he turned on his heel, starting toward the door.

"Where are you going? We have to be at work in an hour." Leonard gently reminded him. Sheldon furrowed his brow and his eye twitched with annoyance.

"I can't let her walk out of my life like that, I'm taking a personal day." Sheldon countered as he swiftly walked toward the door. He heard Leonard loudly sigh as he turned the handle and crossed over the threshold, closing the door to 4A behind him.

The hallway was quiet and Sheldon could hear the low hum of the fluorescent lights situated above him. He took in a lungful of air and held it as he silently walked toward her door. The sound of his pulse hammered in his ears and he had to force himself to steady his hand before he could knock. Sheldon let out a steady breath and raised his knuckles to the door.

_Knock knock knock. _

"Penny." He softly called for her.

_Knock knock knock._

"Penny." He called, his voice still soft as he tried to coax her to the door.

"Go away, Sheldon!" Penny yelled through the other side of the door.

Sheldon frowned, now he was going to have to start all over again.

_Knock knock knock._

"Penny, please listen to me." He pleaded through the door.

"Sheldon, I am not going to ask you again. Go away." Penny warned. Sheldon huffed and straightened his posture. Today was not the day that he was going to give up on what he wanted.

_Knock knock knock_

"Penny, I am not going to ask _you _again, open this door!" Sheldon said, raising his voice. He could feel his heart threatening to burst out of his rib cage.

"You want me? Well c'mon and break the door down Sheldon." Penny countered. Sheldon felt his eye twitch, he wasn't going to break down the door.

"That is a direct violation of the agreement of my lease. I'm not going to break your door down, just open it." Sheldon countered, trying not to voice his annoyance. He quickly glanced at his watch and internally sighed. He had already spent fifteen minutes of his day trying to get into her apartment.

"No, if you want me, you're going to have to break down this fucking door." Penny harshly said through the door. Sheldon listened as she walked away from the door and their conversation.

Anger bubbled just below the surface of his skin, he couldn't believe the audacity of this woman. As he stared at her peephole, determined to bore a hole through the material separating him from her, he let out an audible sigh and leaned his back against the solid door. He allowed his gravity to take him down and he sat with his back pressed against the door facing his own apartment. He would just have to wait for her to come out.

Leonard came out of their apartment and closed the door behind him. Sheldon stared up at him and clutched his knees to his chest. He tore his gaze away from his roommates and looked at the floor instead, the thought of all of the germs he was sitting on made him squirm, but he was determined to wait until she came out.

"S'up?" Leonard said as he gave a slight nod to his roommate, who sat on the floor in his pajamas.

"S'up?" Sheldon quietly replied and watched as Leonard turned and disappeared down the stairs. He sighed and sunk into the door. As he waited he thought about her and how quickly she came to conclusions. It was a quality that was less than admirable, but with her brash and raw nature, completely understandable. Perhaps he could train her out of it using chocolates.

Suddenly the door was being opened and Sheldon's thoughts were being interrupted as he fell into her apartment. As he laid on his back, half way in the hall and halfway in her apartment, he looked up at Penny and tried to smile, it didn't work. Sheldon quickly got to his feet and looked her over. She rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen. He quickly followed her and closed the door behind him.

"I'm giving you 20 minutes, Sheldon. Please make it worth my while." Penny smugly told him. Sheldon pursed his lips together and thought about what to say. He stepped toward her and she quickly walked away. As she picked up her bowl of cereal from the counter, she stared at him with an expectant expression.

"Penny, I didn't tell him about you working in that type of environment. I would never betray your trust like that." He quickly explained as he clasped his hands in front of him. He nervously fidgeted with his hands as he waited for her response.

"How did he figure it out then, Sheldon." Penny questioned as she roughly set her bowl of cereal on the counter. Sheldon frowned.

"You told him." He said in a matter of fact tone. Penny stared blankly at him. After she realized that she was speechless, she briskly walked toward her bedroom. Sheldon followed.

"What do you mean, I told him? How did he know that you were with a… stripper?" She said as she tore off her robe and tossed it to the floor. Her question almost sounded like she was ashamed or embarrassed.

"Leonard was there that night, so was Howard and Raj, but I never told them that it was you. You jump to conclusions too quickly and that was the downfall of your secret being revealed. You told Leonard what you were up to by merely accusing me of telling him." Sheldon explained. Penny again stared blankly at him as she put on a black lacy bra. Sheldon licked his lips and averted his eyes from the swell of her chest.

"Fuck." Penny said just above a whisper. She quickly tore her gaze away from his and rifled through her closet. She pulled out a black pencil skirt, a white blouse and a matching black blazer and tossed them on the bed. Sheldon watched her as she walked toward the bathroom in her underwear and brushed her hair back into a polished bun. He quickly walked toward the bathroom and leaned against the door jam. Her movements were fluid, getting ready was like second nature to Penny.

"Penny, what does this mean for us?" Sheldon asked as he watched her sweep her powder brush across her face. Penny looked at him through the mirror and he bit back a smile. She was perfect, and she didn't even know.

"What do you mean?" She asked as she curled her eyelashes.

"I mean, what are we doing? What is _this_?" He said while motioning to the empty space between them. Penny quickly turned around and stared at him with her bright green eyes.

"What do you want it to be?" Penny vaguely replied. Sheldon felt his mouth twitch, he wished she hadn't given him such an ambiguous response.

"Penny, is this a relationship?" Sheldon quietly asked. Penny smiled as she walked toward him and placed her hand on his scruffy cheek. He hadn't had a chance to start his day, and just realizing the state he was in was making him uncomfortable.

"Do you want it to be a relationship, Sweetie?" Penny softly asked. Sheldon swallowed and looked up to the ceiling, he could lose himself in her intense eyes, but he willed himself not to. Without realizing he had done it, he nodded his head in response to her question.

"Then that's what we'll call it." She said while rising up on her tip toes and brushing her lips against his. Sheldon closed his eyes and let the softness of her lips wash over him. She pulled away and looked into his face.

"I want to give you something better than anything you've ever had." Sheldon confessed. Penny smiled. She wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled into his neck. Sheldon sank into her touch and completely relaxed. As he rubbed his fingertips along the sides of her abdomen, he focused on her hot breath against his neck.

"Sheldon, if that is something you're worried about, I can assure you that you're amazing." Penny softly said against his neck, brushing her lips against his skin as she spoke. Sheldon shuddered at the feeling of her soft lips moving against him. Penny wrapped her arms around his neck and teasingly nipped at his neck as she gently guided him toward her bed. As he sat down on the soft mattress Penny crawled into his lap, kissing at his neck as she unbuttoned his pajama shirt.

Sheldon ran his hands up her back and quickly unclasped her bra, letting her spill from the black lace that contained her soft breasts. As she ran her fingers through his baby soft hair, he gently kissed at her sharp collarbone. Penny sharply inhaled as he roughly grazed his teeth along her soft flesh. Sheldon kissed down her chest, eliciting small, barely audible moans from his girlfriend. Penny gently rocked herself against Sheldon's growing arousal as he licked and sucked on her hardened nipple.

"Oh god Shel-" Penny managed to get out before he made his way back up her chest and cut her off by pressing his lips against hers. She moaned as Sheldon grasped at her chest and he slipped his tongue past her parted lips. As they explored each other's mouths, Penny rocked against Sheldon. She pulled away slightly and fought to catch her breath.

"What time is it?" Penny whispered into his ear. Sheldon couldn't care less what time it was, but he managed to glance at his watch as his hand moved toward her hair.

"It's 9:14." Sheldon said just before pressing his lips to hers. Penny pulled away and looked at him with a panicked expression. She quickly jumped off of him and raced to put on her clothes and finish her make up. Penny quickly got ready as Sheldon sat on the bed wondering what was going on. As Penny tried tucking in her shirt, she grabbed a pair of black stiletto pumps off of the floor. After grabbing her keys off the shelf she stumbled her way out the front door while putting on her shoes.

"Sorry sweetie, I have to go, I'll be back in an hour or two, I'm really sorry." Penny called behind her as she quickly closed the door. Sheldon stood in her apartment utterly confused and very aroused. He sighed and looked around at the mess that was Penny's apartment. He could deal with the mess later, right now he wanted nothing more than to have a shower and to be a productive member of society.


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright! Here we are, the conclusion to this short story. I really hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Be on the look out for the conclusion of my other story The Physicist Divergence Anomaly and Also keep your eyes peeled, I plan on putting out a couple of one-shots. If anyone wants to make me some cover art, that would be awesome! Though, with this story, I'm not sure what you can get away with ;)**

**Enjoy!  
**

Traffic was moving along the Pasadena Freeway surprisingly quickly as Penny drove to her job interview in L.A. She had gotten up in the middle of the night, not being able to sleep, and worked on her resume. She had sent it to the email address in the ad that Sheldon had given her and went back to bed. After she tossed and turned for the remainder of the night, she got up at 7:45. She couldn't believe that someone had replied back to her, just minutes before opening her email, asking if she would be able to come in at 10:30 for an interview. She quickly replied and was penciled in.

The drive was smooth and before she knew it, she had arrived at the address that was provided to her. Penny put her car into park and got out of her car. She straightened her skirt and swept a coat of lip gloss across her lips. She walked into the cool air conditioned building and made her way to reception. The girl sitting behind the counter couldn't have been much older than her, she was a brunette and her hair was styled into tight curls. The girl looked up from her computer and smiled up at Penny.

"Good morning, can I help you?" She sweetly asked. Penny smiled and nodded. She felt her stomach ball up into an anxious mess of knots.

"Yes, I am here to see Mr. Sterling. I have an interview at 10:30." Penny replied, trying to mask the nervousness in her voice. The girl clacked on her keyboard and picked up her phone. Penny watched as her slender fingers quickly punched in a phone number.

"Mr. Sterling, your 10:30 is here." The girl said into the phone. Penny looked around and admired the clean modern look of the office. This was definitely a place she could work. The girl hung up the phone and turned her attention back toward Penny.

"You can have a seat, Mr. Sterling will be out shortly." The girl said while motioning toward a waiting area. Penny smiled and nodded, she turned around on her heels and walked toward the leather chairs adjacent to the reception desk. The sound of her stiletto heels echoed through the quiet office.

Penny sat down in the comfortable leather chair and waited for the man who was interviewing her. She couldn't help but feel extremely nervous, she had never held a job like this before. It was exciting and frightening at the same time. The door to an office opened and a man walked out with another man, they shared a laugh and shook hands.

"It was good to see you Martin, I'll have my assistant set up a meeting with production next week." The man nodded and walked past Penny. She smiled and averted her gaze to the floor. She didn't want to seem like she was eavesdropping on their conversation. The man walked over to her and cleared his throat.

"Ms. Cook?" The man asked. Penny nodded and stood up, extending her hand to him.

"Hi Ms. Cook, Bryan Sterling. It's nice to meet you." He said as he shook her hand. Penny smiled and maintained eye contact. His grasp was firm, but not overbearing. Penny hoped that her palms weren't sweating too much.

"It's good to meet you too." Penny replied as she took her purse off of the chair and followed the man into his office. Penny sat down in the chair and looked around the office, it was quite nice and everything looked very expensive. Bryan took his chair behind his desk and looked over her resume. Penny folded her hands in her lap and waited.

"Penny, can you tell me a bit about yourself?" Bryan started. Penny took in a small breath and thought about her answer.

"Well, I'm originally from Nebraska, I moved to L.A. to chase my dream of becoming an actress, and I got a job at the Cheesecake Factory to pay my bills as I pursued my dream." She said, not really satisfied with her answer. Bryan smiled and looked into her bright green eyes.

"What a coincidence, I'm from Nebraska too. Mind you, I moved to L.A. many many years ago, but I'm still a Corn Husker at heart." Penny beamed, it was nice to meet someone from her home state.

"So it says here that you've been at your current job for the past five years, why are you leaving?" He asked while studying the paper in his hands. Penny smiled and unfolded her hands, she didn't want to seem nervous.

"I have always wanted to work in the entertainment industry, and quite frankly, I don't think I can be a waitress for the rest of my life. So instead of working directly in the limelight, I thought that my skills would transfer nicely to a behind the scenes role in the industry." Penny calmly responded. Bryan nodded and wrote something down on her resume.

"Tell me what you know about HBO." He said. Penny nervously bit at her lip, but quickly stopped.

"HBO was launched in 1972 and is the second largest premium cable network in the US." Penny replied. She was glad that she had done a quick Wikipedia search, but that was really all she could remember in her sleep deprived state. Bryan gave her a half smile, it almost seemed like he was saying "thanks for comin' out kiddo." Penny's heart sank a bit.

"Why do you want to work at HBO?" Bryan quickly asked. Penny really didn't have to think about it.

"I have always wanted to work in the entertainment industry, and HBO is one of the leaders in original programming. Working for a large company like this would give me the opportunity to broaden my skill set and advance my career in the industry." Penny easily answered.

"So what skills could you bring to this position?" He asked. Penny smiled, this was really an easy question.

"I have excellent people skills, as I work in the service industry and I deal with the general public on a daily basis. My current position also requires me to multi-task and pay attention to details, which I think greatly relates to this position." Penny confidently replied. She hoped that she picked up from her little stumble a couple of questions back. Bryan looked over her resume again. His dark hair was peppered with grey around his temple. He casually sat back in his chair and sat quiet for another moment before moving onto the next question.

"Let's talk salary, what are you expecting from a position like this?" He quickly asked. Penny thought about it for a moment. She didn't want to seem greedy, but she also didn't want to be giving away her services for free.

"I think a fair amount would be $50,000 per year." Penny replied. She hoped that amount was within the salary range. The longer this interview went on, the more she wanted the smiled and swivelled in his chair as he contemplated her response. Penny fought off the urge to bite at her lip, she wanted to seem cool and collected, like she was an interview pro or something.

"Penny thank you for coming in this morning." Bryan quickly told her as he stood up from his chair, Penny quickly followed suit. She waited for him to walk her out of his office before she spoke.

"Bryan thank you for the opportunity to interview for this position. I can't wait to hear from you." Penny enthusiastically said as she extended her hand once more to him. He smiled and shook her hand. Before she could take her grasp away, he slightly tightened his grip.

"I'll be in touch Penny. Thanks again for coming in." He sincerely told her. Penny's heart pounded and she felt light headed. She wasn't sure what to make of the interview, so she just nodded. They ended their handshake and Penny walked out of the building, and strode to her car. As soon as the door closed, she felt the tears rush out of her eyes.

She was so confused, either it went really well or it went very badly. She kept flipping back and forth between her options, not being able to decide which it was. Did the interview end early because he liked what he heard or was it over early because Penny was a terrible interviewee and he wanted her out of his office. She sat in her car and softly cried, slowly convincing herself that she blew it. Penny pulled her car out of park and drove in the direction of her comfortable apartment.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Sheldon closed the door to Penny's apartment and entered his own. He was so confused in regards to her abrupt exit. She was dressed up more than usual, it looked like she was going to a job interview, or court. She couldn't have had a job interview, she didn't even have a resume. Sheldon walked across his quiet living room toward the bathroom, picking up his abandoned towel from the bar stool along the way.

The bathroom door quietly clicked shut as closed the door and placed his towel on the rack. Sheldon thought about what he was missing at work as he unbuttoned his pajama shirt, folded it and set it on the bathroom counter. Normally, he would be trying to solve an equation to prove string theory, or maybe today would be one of those days where he and Raj got into an argument and ended up shooting marshmallow guns at each other. He sighed as he rubbed at the scruff that decorated his chin.

Sheldon turned on the taps and let the hot shower run as he shaved his scruffy face. As he shaved, he thought about Penny and the conversation they had earlier that morning. She was now his girlfriend, not his neighbor, not his roommate's girlfriend, not some girl that invaded his life with her good looks, and charm. She was his girlfriend. He wondered if he would need to make another Penny-specific addendum to the roommate agreement, or since Leonard really didn't care, if he could just leave it out and see what happens as things ran their course. The thought of that slightly terrified him.

Steam filled the small bathroom and Sheldon put away his razor and began to get undressed. His schedule was already off, he should be at work, not showering at 9:45 in the morning. He pulled back the shower curtain and climbed in. The water was hot and slightly burned at his flesh. Sheldon didn't care, he liked his showers hot. He grabbed his soap and lathered it up against his abdomen. As he ran his hands along his body, she invaded his thoughts once more.

The scent of her invaded his mind, the softness of her hair lingered on his fingertips, and the taste of her skin made him lick at his desperately dry lips. Sheldon let the hot water rush over him as he grasped at his growing arousal. He recalled their encounter in her bedroom this morning, the memory was so vivid when he closed his eyes. As he stroked his fist along his hard length, he imagined what would have happened if she didn't rush off like she had.

He wanted nothing more than to taste her, to hear her moan and call out his name in ecstasy. The tight, warm and soft feeling of her filled his thoughts and he let out a groan that echoed throughout the bathroom. He felt himself twitch and he fought to hold back his release, but couldn't, not with her occupying his thoughts. His orgasm rushed over him as he came onto the floor of the bathtub. Luckily he was already in the shower, so clean up was easy. Sheldon's brain was buzzing as he finished up in the shower and toweled himself off. He got into a new set of clothes and decided to work at home.

While standing in front of his board for what seemed like forever, he attempted to measure the universe using black holes. His thoughts shifted again and Sheldon couldn't help but think that he had changed for the better since she entered his life. It was like he couldn't even imagine what is days were like before she had come along. He had always thought that people mistakenly interpreted the biochemical reaction of oxytocin flooding certain neuroreceptor cites as 'falling in love', but he now knew that it was much more than that. He wasn't sure when it happened, whether it was her singing Soft Kitty to him while he was sick and she barely knew him, sharing spaghetti and hotdogs a multitude of times, or him showing her how to play Age of Conan, but it happened. Sheldon Cooper was in love.

He shook out his thoughts and tried to remain concentrated on the equations on his white board. As he moved around some functions and replaced numbers with different ones over the next hour, she kept popping up into his thoughts. The door to his apartment suddenly opened, Penny walked in and flopped down on the far end of the leather couch tossing her purse on the floor. Sheldon turned around and closely examined her. She looked up at him with sad looking eyes and unconsciously bit at her cheek. Sheldon capped his dry erase marker and folded his arms across his chest.

"What's the matter Kitten?" He softly asked. Penny couldn't help but smile at his pet name for her. He remembered when he first called her that. It was in a sleep deprived, bongo playing state, but he had the urge to call her that long before that.

"I think I blew my interview." She quietly confessed. Sheldon looked at her quizzically. He was wrong about the court thing.

"What interview, you don't even have a resume." Sheldon asked, trying not to sounds smug and condescending. Some days were harder than others. Penny narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips.

"I got up in the middle of the night and worked on my resume. When I was done, I applied for the HBO Assistant position and they contacted me a little bit before eight asking if I could come in at 10:30. That's why I had to leave like that this morning." Penny explained. Sheldon smirked as he uncrossed his arms and sat down beside her on the middle cushion of the couch. He placed his hand on her thigh and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sure you performed adequately. You really shouldn't pigeonhole yourself into a self-fulfilling prophecy Penny." Sheldon told her. Penny looked at him with confusion, like the words that came out of his mouth were not English. Sheldon sighed and slightly rolled his eyes at her.

"If you believe you are going to fail, chances are you will." He explained. Penny nodded her head and looked toward the floor. Sheldon moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her. She laid her head against his shoulder and let out a breath she was holding in. He gently kissed the top of her head and the two sat in a comfortable silence. The hum of the refrigerator was the only noise in the apartment.

"I'm sorry I slapped you." Penny quietly said, breaking the silence between them. Sheldon looked down at her and she looked up at him with her beautiful green eyes. He laced his fingers into hers and rubbed at the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb.

"I can forgive you, but you'll have to make it up to me." Sheldon replied in a cool, even tone. Penny grinned up at him and touched the tip of her nose to his. She moved her lips toward his but stopped just before they made contact.

"What did you have in mind?" Penny asked. Her lips softly grazed his as she spoke. Sheldon fought back a moan and tried to organize the dirty thoughts that entered his mind. He placed his hand on her cheek and softly kissed her lips, barely touching her.

"I can show you if you'd like." He offered, pressing his lips to hers when he finished his sentence. Sheldon took her bottom lip into his mouth and gently sucked on it, eliciting a soft groan from his girlfriend. Penny placed her hand on top of his as he slipped his tongue past her parted lips. She ran her fingers along his strong forearm and gripped his t-shirt in her fist. Penny stood up and brought Sheldon to his feet. She kissed him while balancing on her tip toes and allowed him to guide her to his bedroom.

Sheldon closed the door behind them and they hungrily kissed each other as they collapsed on the bed. Penny knelt down before him and took off her blazer, tossing it off the side of the bed. He crawled between her legs and hiked her skirt up her thighs, gently pushing her down on the mattress. Penny bit her lip up at him and Sheldon grinned at her. He leaned in and kissed at her neck. Penny was breathing heavily and she ran her finger nails along his shoulder blades as he pressed his hardness against her lacy panties.

Sheldon inhaled her scent and twisted his long fingers into her hair. If it was possible, he would never leave this moment. Penny moaned as he took her earlobe into his burning mouth. He gently rocked himself against her aching core as she grasped at his shirts. She managed to take off his t-shirt, leaving him in his black thermal. Sheldon quickly unbuttoned his pants and tugged them halfway down his thighs. His member sprang out and slapped against her damp panties.

Sheldon grasped at Penny's button down blouse and before he could control the impulse, he ripped it open, causing the tiny buttons to explode into the air. Penny began to protest, but Sheldon quickly quieted her down by kissing along her breast where she was covered by the lacy fabric of her bra. He throbbed against her center as he pulled down the fabric of her bra, exposing her nipple to him. Penny cried out when he gently took it between his teeth and playfully bit down. His hands were quick to tug her panties down her legs exposing her wetness to him.

"Oh god, you're so fucking wet." Sheldon groaned as he pressed his tip against her hot entrance. Penny sharply inhaled as he sank into her. It was better than he had remembered. He kept her in place and didn't move for a moment, he took a moment to really feel how hot, wet and tight she was. Penny throbbed around his member and Sheldon closed his eyes leaning his forehead against her shoulder.

"Language, Sheldon." Penny whispered. He let out a small laugh and began to move in and out of her. The friction of her against him was amazing, it was everything he wanted in that moment and more. Penny's moans were getting louder and he let out a few grunts as he rhythmically sank in and out of her wetness. He didn't mind the increase in volume when it was just the two of them in the apartment. In fact, it was driving him crazy. The sound of her whimpers echoed through his mind as they experienced one another and gave into their urges. Sheldon kissed at her neck and listened to her loud moans.

"Oh god Penny, I'm close." He whispered against her neck. Penny cried out and he felt her spasm around his length. It was like she was trying to draw him further inside of her. Sheldon couldn't handle the sensations any longer, he felt himself twitch so he pulled out of Penny and came onto her exposed stomach. Penny gasped and let out a chuckle. Sheldon let out a soft sigh as he released himself onto her bare flesh.

"I'm so sorry Penny, I just-" Sheldon started. Penny smiled, but cut him off.

"It's ok, Sweetie. I would rather it on me than in me." She playfully responded. Sheldon blushed, he had never expected her to be okay with something like that. He certainly wasn't.

"I'll get some tissue." Sheldon said as he leaned over and opened the drawer to his night stand. He pulled out a box of Kleenex and pulled out a couple of tissues. He gingerly cleaned up the mess he made on his girlfriend's stomach and watched her as she watch him do it. Penny giggled at his obvious discomfort. Sheldon slightly frowned and got up off the bed and pulled his pants up. Penny sat up on the bed and watched him tug on his t-shirt. She looked down at her ruined blouse and let out a sigh. She stood up and opened a drawer to his dresser.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sheldon cautiously asked as Penny grabbed a shirt from his drawer. Penny smirked at him as she took off her blouse and stuffed it into his grasp. She pulled the t-shirt over her head and tucked it into her skirt.

"I'm going to take this Flash shirt and when you fix my blouse, you can have it back." She explained to him. Sheldon opened his mouth to speak and looked at her blouse in his hands. He closed his mouth and pursed his lips together. Penny picked up her blazer from off of the floor and put it back on.

"But that t-shirt is my favorite." Sheldon childishly countered. Penny smiled and stood on her tip toes giving him a chaste kiss.

"Then it will be all the more reason to fix my shirt in a timely manner." Penny teased. Sheldon rolled his eyes and then quickly nodded his head. Penny opened the door to his bedroom and Sheldon grasped at her wrist, and quickly let it go.

"Wait." He urgently requested. Penny turned around and folded her arms across her chest. Sheldon darted his eyes across her face and panic flooded him. Now or never Cooper.

"I love you, Kitten." He blurted out. Penny grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. After giving him a quick squeeze, she let go and looked into his light blue eyes. Sheldon shyly smiled.

"I love you too, Moon Pie." Penny responded and gave him a tiny kiss on the tip of his nose. Sheldon frowned.

"Penny, only my Mee Maw can call me that." Sheldon said in a hushed tone. Penny grinned.

"Not anymore, Moon Pie." She quickly countered as she walked out of the bedroom toward the living room. She picked up her purse and fished out her phone. She checked her email and opened the only thing sitting in her inbox. She squealed and Sheldon quickly rushed out to see what was wrong.

"If it's a spider, you have to kill it!" He cried in fear. Penny laughed.

"It's not a spider, you big baby. It's a job offer! Sheldon I got the HBO job!" She cried. Sheldon smiled as she once again embraced him in a long hug. She pulled away and looked into his face. Her bright green eyes quickly darted along his angular features.

"Thank you Sheldon. Thank you for being there for me when I needed it most." Penny sincerely said as she softly kissed him. Sheldon hugged her tighter, he didn't want to leave her embrace. The door to the apartment opened and the guys walked in. Penny pulled away from Sheldon and looked into the faces of a shocked Howard and Raj. She shyly smiled and turned toward Sheldon.

"Do you want to come over later for spaghetti and hot dogs?" Penny asked. Sheldon looked at his friends. It was Wednesday, meaning it was new comic book night. He looked back at Penny who had placed her hand into his.

"It's Wednesday." Sheldon softly told her. She nodded.

"I know, after, come over for dinner." Penny asked. Sheldon quickly nodded his head and Penny gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She picked up her purse from the coffee table and walked past Leonard, Howard, and Raj.

"Hi guys." She said as she reached for the door handle. They watched her as she opened the door.

"Hi Penny." Howard and Raj said together. Raj clasped his hand over his mouth, he had just spoken to her without alcohol. Perhaps those sessions with Amy were actually paying off.

Penny left and Howard and Raj, who were left in the dark until just now, turned to Sheldon. Sheldon eyed them and pursed his lips together.

"What?!" He defensively asked. Howard looked at him, at the door and then back at him.

"What the frack? You and Penny?" He sputtered. Sheldon frowned, and resisted the urge to shoot daggers at his tiny friend.

"Dude! I always knew that the two of you belonged together! Like Cinderella and Prince Charming, but instead of Prince Charming being human, he is some kind of high tech cyborg." Raj gushed. Sheldon looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"In any case, it's new comic book night and if we leave now we can have first dibs on the aforementioned comic books." Sheldon quickly said, he knew he would never hear the end of anything ever again. Leonard smiled.

"Let's go, I'll drive." Leonard offered. Sheldon shook his head, what was wrong with his friends.

"Of course you'll drive, who else would? I suppose that Raj could drive, but that would mean that I would have to sit in the back and I don't like it when my knees touch the back of the seat and we certainly can't take Walowitz's scooter, as we all can't fit on it and quite frankly, I would never get on that death trap again. You know I don't drive, so by process of elimination, that leaves you." Sheldon said finishing his long winded sentence. Leonard stared at him with disbelief and Sheldon stared back with utter confusion.

"You're right, let's go." He said not wanting to entice another rant. With that the four of them made their way out of the apartment and down the stairs. While at the comic book store, Sheldon purchased a cute Hello Kitty pack of mints to offer Penny as a small congratulation on her new job. He couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he decided to stay at home, rather than go out with the boys that night. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way.


End file.
